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For Those Who Are Financially Capable, Don’t Miss Out On This Highly Recommended Sunnah Of Sacrificing An Animal On Eid-Al-Adha !!!

The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever sees the new crescent of Dhul-Hijjah and wants to offer a sacrifice, let him not remove any of his hair or nails until he has offered the sacrifice.”

“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him. Thus have We made them subject to you that you may magnify Allah for His Guidance to you. And give glad tidings (O Muhammad SAW) to the Muhsineen (doers of good).” (Al-Hajj 22:37)

With Ramadan being a special month most of us forget that it’s a month of fasting and not feasting. Look into your intentions and review your goals and ask yourself what is it that you would like to achieve from this blessed month.

Eating Less – The Solution To Many Problems

Abu Juhayfah said:

“A man burped in the presence of the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) and he said: “Keep your burps away from us, for the one who eats his fill the most in this world will be hungry for the longest time on the Day of Resurrection.” (al-Tabaraani–Saheeh)

After hearing that Abu Juhayfah RA did not eat his fill until he departed from this world; if he ate breakfast he would not eat dinner and if he ate dinner he would not eat breakfast, and he said: “I have not filled my stomach for thirty years.”

Yet, we force our kids to eat, to finish their plate or just simply stuff themselves until they are full. And we do the same ourselves. What we don’t realize is that, not only is this bad for health, and against the wise teachings of our beloved Prophet (pbuh), but it is this excessive eating that is keeping us away from the sincere and focused worship of Allaah that we are searching for…..that Khushoo’….that Sakeena, the peace that should be there in all our Ibadaat.

This is because eating one’s fill makes the body heavy, which leads to yawning and laziness in worship and work.

The Prophet (pbuh) said,

“A believer eats in one intestine, and a kafir (unbeliever) or a hypocrite eats in seven intestines.” (Bukhaari)

That means; a believer is satisfied with a little food, while an unbeliever or a hypocrite eats too much to satisfy himself.

The Prophet (pbuh) also said:

“The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few morsels to keep him alive. If he must fill it, then one-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for air.” (al-Tirmidhi –saheeh by al-Albaani)

Eating too much also makes the heart hard and heedless of Allaah. And that is why the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions used to go hungry quite frequently, even in the presence of abundant food.

Some people argue that as long as what they are eating is Halaal, they can eat whatever they want, whenever they want and in whatever quantity they want.
But Allaah condemns everyone who is extravagant, even in things that are permissible.

Umar (RA) said: By Allaah, if I wanted I could wear the finest clothes among you, and eat the best food, and have the most luxurious life. But I heard that Allaah will condemn people for some of their actions and said:

“You received your good things in the life of the world, and you took your pleasure therein. Now this Day you shall be recompensed with a torment of humiliation, because you were arrogant in the land without a right, and because you used to rebel against Allaah’s Command (disobey Allaah)” [al-Ahqaaf 46:20]

Ibrahim ibn Adham said: “Any one who controls his stomach is in control of his deen, and anyone who controls his hunger is in control of good behavior.. Disobedience towards Allah is nearest to a person who is satiated with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person who is hungry.”

The Ulama enumerate multiple benefits of eating in moderation. Eating less keeps the body healthy and light, keeps the heart soft, increases memory, weakens desires, and disciplines the soul while excessive eating brings about the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities..

The best and most perfect diet is to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). For, indeed, it is only his way that is the best and his guidance that is perfect.

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“We are a people who do not eat until we are hungry. And if we eat, we do not eat to our fill.”

May Allaah protect us from over eating and grant us wisdom and piety. Ameen

We pray you are all enjoying your night, most of you have just come back from taraweeh and clearly exhausted… But before you end your night and very soon to start your day we urge you to take 2mins to just read the following.

Can you think of a shop/take away or restaurant that sells one full meal that would fill a hungry person up for a mere £1.60?! Honestly just think hard….

We very much doubt shops like that even exist ( and we are not talking chicken and chips!)

But today … Like right now if you are to donate £1.60 you would have fed one person during iftar. £1.60 is not much to ask considering even a cup of coffee in the shops don’t cost that much anymore!

So please help us to help those that won’t have a morsel of food to break their fast with… Think of it in this way, that for every bite, chew and gulp they do,you get the reward for it. And only Allah knows how many folds He could multiply that reward of £1.60 that you give tonight. Don’t forget those whom you feed will also be making duah for you during this blessed month.

And lastly, we have over 1 thousand subscribers to our blog… If each were to intend to feed one person … That’s a thousand people we would have fed collectively without anyone’s reward decreasing. Honestly this religion is beautiful. Alhamdulillah ❤️

So what are you waiting for?! Hurry go on this site and bank your akhira. May Allah reward you all Ameen

We pray you are all in good health and high iman on this blessed month that we have all been waiting for.

Please forgive us for a very belated Ramadan Mubarak. We have been experiencing technical problems hence the delay.

Nevertheless we are back on track slowly but surely bi’ithnillah.

Since its Ramadan we have a special post to aid your day by Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

He begins:

1. Ramadhan is a month of looking after our health -body, mind and spirit.

2. We don’t take care of what we eat then we fall ill and we complain and look for treatment.

3. It is a source of harm to eat too much. It may be nice to eat or to be stronger when you eat more, but it is a source of harm. The Messenger of Allah said “The son of Adam does not fill a worse vessel than his belly.”

4. Maintaining our health is an act of worship and curing ourselves is an obligation and looking after what we eat is following the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.

5. We eat as much as possible, not as much as our bodies need. When you have a desire to eat, we continue; but we only leave the table when we have a desire of not eating – this is not good. You should leave the table while you still have the desire to eat more.

6. The most that you should have is a third of your stomach for food, a third for water and a third for air. Anything more than this is excessive.

7. We eat excessively in Ramadhan. We fast to cleanse our bodies from all sorts, but when Maghrib comes in, we eat more than what we need. It does not mean that if you miss a meal during the day that you eat twice as much when you can. You are not supposed to eat as much as possible hence people are hungrier the next day.

8. If you cannot control your intake of food, you are a slave of food.

9. To accustom the body to reduce its food intake, you need to do it gradually. If you are eating 40 morsels of food then make it 39 for the week – and you won’t notice much difference at all and the body will get use to this and produce the same amount of energy but with less intake. And then reduce it further by a morsel, like 37, 36 etc. You will find the body will produce the same energy -this is how the awliya accustomed themselves with the little amount.

10. Eating a lot causes lack of comprehension, bad memory, blocks the mind and makes you sleep more. If you eat a lot, you will drink a lot, you sleep a lot and you will miss a lot!

11. The Muslim community do not pay enough attention to water. Water is the source of life. Allah says in the Qur’an al-Kareem that He created from water everything. Our bodies are made up of around 70% water. We should have plenty of water to drink throughout the day, or if you are fasting, have plenty before and after your fast, especially in the summer. Don’t drink water all of a sudden in one go because it causes liver problems. Have a sip and increase your intake slowly.

12. For 2 months, the Prophet did not eat cooked food -you could not see a fire lit in his house for cooking. The Companions asked what the household would eat and Sayyida `A’isha said “We would eat dates and drink water for 2 months.”

13. People should eat dates all year round, not just in Ramadhan. You should eat them daily especially in the morning. The Prophet said “The person who eats 7 ajwa dates (from Medina tul-Munawwara) every day in the morning (before eating anything) will never be harmed by poison or magic.” Dates are the only fruits that have all the amino acids for the production of protein. It suffices for food. It has fibre and vitamins for the body. You don’t need to eat meat or beans if you stick to eating dates. This is why when you open your fast with dates, the feeling of energy enters the body to prepare you for worship. Dates suppress hunger and that’s why when you have 2 or 3 dates after a day of fasting, you don’t feel hungry. The Prophet also said about dates “Any household that doesn’t have dates, will always feel hungry.”

14. Use extra virgin olive oil and vinegar in your diet. You can consume olive oil and also apply it on your body. People used to drink olive oil like water and they lived very healthy and long lives. My grandfather used to drink olive oil and he lived for 80 years and never got sick. In statistics by World Health – the best level of health in people around the world are in the Mediterranean countries like Italy -this is attributed to the olive oil.

15. Vinegar is essential for the body. You should have it on bread. There is a Hadith of the Prophet where he says “As long as a person has vinegar in his house, he will never become poor.”

16. Any food produced by animals has a heavy burden on your spirit where as food produced by plant is very light on the spirit.

17. In the summer if one opens his/her fast with dates, combine it with watermelon. Dates are hot foods, and having hot foods in warm weather is not the best combination. This is why the Prophet had cold water in the summer to open his fasts and dates in the winter. Watermelon is a cold and wet food that satiates the body in warm weather. Combining this with dates will be much better. You’ll feel energy flowing through you immediately.

18. Meat is the master of foods. The Prophet did not eat meat every day except when he had guests. The Shaykh said that his own diet is based on vegetables. Meat is used as an additive in meals where two thirds of a dish would be vegetables and a third would be meat. To eat meat, you need to do certain amount of exercise. This is why you have so many problems due to overeating of meat.

19. There are 4 types of natures: hot, cold, dry and wet. Knowing your nature is the key to knowing what you should eat. If you are of hot nature for example, hot foods (spicy) will not be good for you. There should be a balance.

20. Allah created fruits to be eaten at certain times of the year. You should not be eating exotic fruits from different countries. It is better you eat local grown fruits of the season. For example you should eat dates in the winter because dates are hot foods. In the summer you should have dates with watermelon -balancing both hot and cold.

21. People who are lactose intolerant can mix milk with a few (3) dates and leave it for a day -this makes the milk lactose free.

22. People who have problems with yoghurt, should mix some peppermint with it. It will settle the stomach and help with digestion.

23. Too much saffron causes pain in the knees.

24. Protect your health, protect your sanity and have the Messenger of Allah as your guide and remember him in your meals.

Notes from Prophetic Diet | Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi 09.07.2013

Notes shared by a dear sister, please keep her and her family in your duas.